Splinters of Scarlet

by Emily Bain Murphy Narrated by Kat Rose-Martin

Overview

For Marit Olsen, magic is all about strategy: it flows freely through her blood, but every use leaves behind a deadly ice-like build-up within her veins called the Firn. Marit knows how dangerous it is to let too much Firn build up-after all, it killed her sister-and she has vowed never to use her thread magic. But when Eve, a fellow orphan whom Marit views like a little sister, is adopted by the wealthy Helene Vestergaard, Marit will do anything to stay by Eve's side. She decides to risk the Firn and uses magic to secure a job as a seamstress in the Vestergaard household. But Marit has a second, hidden, agenda: her father died while working in the Vestergaards' jewel mines-and it might not have been an accident. The closer Marit gets to the truth about the Vestergaard family, the more she realizes she and everyone she's come to love are in danger. When she finds herself in the middle of a treacherous deception that goes all the way up to the king of Denmark, magic may be the only thing that can save her-if it doesn't kill her first.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

07/27/2020

In Bain’s (The Disappearances) version of 19th-century Denmark, some citizens have magic that amplifies a single talent, enabling excellence beyond ordinary reach. But this power is dangerous: overdo it and die when the eerie Firn turns blood to ice. Reluctant magic practitioner Marit Olsen, 16, uses her gifts as a seamstress to help her protegee and fellow orphan Eve, an aspiring dancer, attract Helene Vestergaard, one of the country’s most celebrated ballerinas. When Helene adopts Eve, Marit flees her grim apprenticeship and joins the Vestergaard household as a servant. Though wary of working for the owners of the mines where her father died, Marit discovers a mostly welcoming community in Helene’s grand home north of Copenhagen, with fellow servants who practice magic proudly and openly. Assisted by her new roommate and a love interest who’s sweet but unsurprising to readers, Marit explores the convoluted fates of her father and sister, and how they relate both to the Vandergaards and the future of Denmark itself. Though a murky mystery burdens this novel’s second half, the refreshing setting and intriguing setup imbue a buoyant charm. Ages 12–up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park & Fine Literary and Media. (July)

From the Publisher

★ "Murphy’s world-building is extraordinary. Readers will delight in exploring the intricate passageways and elaborate furnishings of the mansion.... Murphy’s attention to detail is delicious... A great fantasy for middle school readers who need an age-appropriate challenge that won’t burn their eyes." — School Library Journal (starred review)

★"An assured blend of historical fiction and fantasy, with satisfyingly researched details appearing alongside a simple but powerful system of magic.... Most satisfying is the book’s villain, an occasional narrator whose identity is revealed in time. Murphy has created a more nuanced villain than is usually attempted in YA fantasy, with valid (yet misguided) goals and easily understandable, even sympathetic motivations. Marit’s struggle to find and protect her found family, the lush and hygge-filled Scandinavian surroundings and the thrilling showdown with a complex villain make Splinters of Scarlet a finely woven tale perfect for historical fiction and fantasy readers alike." — Bookpage (starred review)

"Part wish-fulfillment fantasy, with lavish descriptions of clothing, food, and flowers, part gritty whodunit....Come for the ballet costumes, stay for the exposé of corruption."  — Kirkus Reviews

"Set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Denmark, this standalone historical fantasy has an intriguing premise and a large cast. Hand to fans of dangerous magic and found families."  — Booklist

"Readers can take aesthetic pleasure in the magical gowns Marit creates and the lush, gilded world of privilege in 1860s Denmark."  — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

School Library Journal

★ 07/01/2020

Gr 7 Up—Raised in an orphanage, Marit is a gifted seamstress—a gift sometimes enhanced with magic. She uses it sparingly, however, as she is haunted by her sister's death from its overuse. Her sister's last words were, "I think I went too far," as the icy blue veins of the Firn appeared at the back of her wrists, signalling her imminent demise and freezing her from the inside out. Marit, meanwhile, has splurged and used her magic to sew a dance costume for her beloved orphanage companion in hopes of having Eve spotted for adoption. Having succeeded in this endeavor, Marit manages to tag along as the seamstress for a very prestigious house, only to find the entire staff to be magically gifted as well. Each servant has a different magically-enhanced skill, from amazing chef to master gardener. Mystery grows as Marit sets out to learn more about her father's death and whether it was really an accident. Murphy's world-building is extraordinary. Readers will delight in exploring the intricate passageways and elaborate furnishings of the mansion. Reminiscent of Robin McKinley, who could easily expand a simple fairy tale to novel length, Murphy's attention to detail is delicious. There is a hint of romance, but it is extremely tame. The writing is sophisticated, but the morality is perfect for middle school and, like all fairy tales, things wrap up neatly at the end. VERDICT A great fantasy for middle school readers who need an age-appropriate challenge that won't burn their eyes.—Leah Krippner, Harlem H.S., Machesney Park, IL

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Kat Rose-Martin’s narration leads listeners into the fantastical nineteenth-century world of Marit Olsen. Her delivery gives narrative drive to the first-person story of the Danish orphan whose work as a talented seamstress is enhanced when she uses magic. But magic has a cost, and Rose-Martin captures Marit’s fear of dying—as her sister did—from the poison that builds up in those who use their powers. Rose-Martin lingers over lavish details on food, clothing, and jewels, balancing those descriptions with a gripping mystery and themes of corruption, servitude, and racism. Interspersed narratives by a secondary male character would have been less surprising if there had been a second narrator portraying him. S.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2020-05-03
Issues of servitude and sacrifice simmer beneath the surface of a lush 19th-century fantasy.

Marit Olsen has lost her father (mining accident); her sister, Ingrid (magic overuse), and her place at the orphanage but is determined not to lose little 11-year-old Eve too. When Helene Vestergaard—a ballet dancer and former orphan who married rich—adopts Eve, Marit abandons her thankless seamstress job, following Eve to Copenhagen and into service. Like the other servants, Marit relies on her minor magic; all risk the inescapable, seemingly incurable, icy and fatal Firn by using their powers to keep the Vestergaards comfortable. Blaming the Vestergaards for her father’s death, Marit investigates the family, endangering everyone, even Eve. Chapters from the point of view of Philip Vestergaard explore how powerlessness, patriotism, and greed can lead to villainy. In addition to class inequality, Murphy tackles racism, with biracial Helene (Crucian mother/Danish father) and Eve (West Indian mother/father unknown) facing prejudice despite their talent and wealth in this otherwise white world. Part wish-fulfillment fantasy, with lavish descriptions of clothing, food, and flowers, part gritty whodunit, beneath the familiar upstairs-downstairs drama and glitter, the novel is also an extended (if sometimes obvious) metaphor for how the luxuries of capitalism, commerce, and colonialism ultimately cost lives.

Come for the ballet costumes, stay for the exposé of corruption. (Fantasy. 12-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173247551
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	07/21/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,055,367

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

Marit Olsen
November 7, 1866
Karlslunde, Denmark

THERE IS BLOOD ON EVE’S LACE.
      I turn my palm as a fresh, incriminating bead blooms red on my fingertip. A new streak of crimson drips down the lace and onto the layers of tulle I just spent a week frothing to be as light as meringue.
      With a yelp I drop my sewing needle and a hearty string of curses.
      The most important performance of Eve’s life is tomorrow, and I’m bleeding across her costume like a stuck pig. I suck on the tip of my finger, tasting rust, and throw a furtive glance around Thorsen’s tailor shop. I am alone for once, tucked in the back behind reams of muted wools and intricate lace, silk scarves bursting with birds, a pincushion studded with needles and pearled buttons.
      I could take more, I think. Thorsen keeps an unsorted stash of deliveries on the third floor. He might not notice the missing fabrics before I put aside my earnings from next week. I rise, remembering how I promised Eve I’d make her stand out tomorrow. I envisioned her in a costume dripping in glass beads so she’d reflect light like an icicle in the sun—not one that looks as though she practices arabesques for Nilas the butcher.
      Tomorrow, a couple named Freja and Tomas Madsen are coming to the Mill orphanage, looking for a child to adopt. The thought of it makes my heart twist. I’ve poked around, wringing the barest answers out of tightlipped Ness, the orphanage director, and gleaning snatches from servants picking up their masters’ tailoring at the shop. From what I can tell, the Madsens live two towns away—still within a morning’s journey by carriage ride—and they might be Eve’s best chance of getting picked.
      If I hurry, I can grab what I need for Eve’s costume before my roommate, Agnes, returns. Otherwise she’ll snitch on me before I even make it back downstairs.
      But just as I reach the first step, the bell over the door tinkles, and Agnes herself bursts in with a swirl of leaves. I freeze with my hand on the banister.
      “What are you doing?” she asks, unlooping her scarf. We work side by side in Thorsen’s shop and have boarded together in the cramped room upstairs since I aged out of the Mill myself three months ago. For someone who’s barely older than I am, Agnes is as nosy and crotchety as a spinster. But worse, actually, because she has more zest for snooping.
      “I just . . .” I say, but she isn’t even listening.
      “Did you hear?” She cocks her head and smoothes her hair from the wind. My heart falters. She looks positively gleeful. The only time she ever looks that way is when she’s about to deliver bad news.
      “What?” I whisper.
      “The Mill’s in a panic. That prospective couple, the Madsens—they aren’t coming tomorrow anymore.” Agnes squints at me, her lips curling up into a miserable smile. “They’re coming today.”
      My mouth goes dry. The deliciously selfish part of me whispers, Maybe now they won’t pick Eve. I kick at that thought like it’s a dog that won’t stop nipping at my ankles.
      Agnes watches my reaction with growing pleasure, and when I turn, she follows. I stomp up to the second floor, trying to drive her away. “You know, I think I saw a mouse up here,” I call over my shoulder. She squeals and hesitates for half a moment until she sees me bypass our bedroom and continue on.
      “Where are you going, Marit?” she yells, charging up the wooden stairs behind me. No one ever wanted either of us, but I hope I hide it better than she does. She aged out of the Mill a year before I did, and the bitterness has settled into her like rot—the kind that repels people with one whiff, the kind that doesn’t want anyone to have what she doesn’t. Don’t be Agnes, I tell myself. You want Eve to have a family. Even if it means they take her away—​the last person I have left in the world.
      Maybe this time my mind will finally stitch these lies well enough to hold.
      “I don’t know why you care so much,” Agnes says behind me. “The Madsens have plenty of girls to choose from. Eve has almost no chance of getting picked.”
      “Stop talking, Agnes.” I round the landing to the third floor. Agnes is wrong. Ness must believe that Eve has a very good chance, in fact. Because Ness is having the girls dance. And Eve is the best dancer of them all.
      “Unless, of course,” Agnes says, “Eve does something to . . . improve her odds.”
      I pause on the final step. It gives a shrill creak under my weight.
      “What do you mean?” I ask coldly.
      “Nothing, really. Just that there have been rumors.” Agnes tuts her tongue. “Of magic.”
      My blood warms and beats faster. I take the final stair and stop in front of the fabric closet.
      “She’s always been good at dancing,” Agnes continues. “Unusually good. Perhaps unnatural.”
      “Eve doesn’t have magic,” I say.
      Magic. To excel in a single area since birth, like a savant, and do things others can do only in their dreams. Magic—the gift that comes with a hefty price. I shudder and think of my sister, Ingrid, of the blue frost that laced itself beneath the delicate skin of her wrists.
      Agnes shrugs. “Using magic might get her picked,” she says in a singsong voice, “until the Firn turns her blood to ice.”
      I kneel to sort through the boxes, gritting my teeth. Agnes is such a shrew.
      “Eve doesn’t have magic,” I repeat. “If anyone would know, it’s me.”
      I grab a handful of fabric and a spool of gold thread before Agnes suddenly seems to notice what I’m doing. “Hey! You didn’t pay for that!” she cries.
      I straighten. All I can think about is Eve, waiting for me at the Mill, her heart in her throat, her fingers tapping. How much I want the Madsens to pick her today; how much I don’t.
      “I’ll tell Thorsen.” Agnes crosses her arms and steps in front of me, challenge swimming in her cold blue eyes. “He’ll kick you out, and I’ll have our room all to myself again.”
      “In that case . . .” I shove past her and grab the small bottle of glass beads I’ve been dreaming about. “Might as well take these, too.”
      Her scandalized gasp is faintly satisfying and I whirl around to close the distance between us, so that for once I am the threatening one.
      “Strike a deal with me, Agnes,” I say. “What do you want?”
      She narrows her eyes and thinks, smoothing the front of her apron. “Cover my lunch hours every day for a month,” she says. “Starting . . .” Below us, the grandfather clock bongs out twelve noon. “Now.”
      I reach out my hand to shake and she purses her lips. But then she takes it and the agreement is made.
      “Don’t choke on your lunch!” I call, waving my contraband at her. She leaves me at the top of the stairs without acknowledgment.
      Good, I think, trying to forget what she said. About magic and what it leaves behind, a Firn that frosts your veins until, eventually, it freezes you from the inside out.
      My hands tighten around the beads.
      Agnes has to be gone for what I’m about to do anyway.

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